Decor Outdoes The Menu At Cafe Royal

December 13, 1985|By Paul A. Camp, Restaurant critic.

Cafe Royal, the must-see restaurant that opened about two months ago on Halsted Street just north of North Avenue, is unquestionably one of the most unusual and perhaps the most spectacular restaurant to open in Chicago recently. A tremendous amount of thought, effort and money went into the open- beamed, loft-like, multiroom, multilevel space, with hardwood floors and a pleasant Postmodern color scheme.

Diners enter through a two-story lobby with a bar in the center. To the right, a pianist plays classical music in a large, comfortable cocktail lounge. This lounge offers a view of the inner workings of the restaurant through a sweep of plate glass. On a level below, cooks prepare the evening`s fare.

At the rear of the lounge a set of stairs beside the maitre d` stand leads down to a separate wine bar. One wall of this intimate little bar, equipped with a nitrogen-charged wine keeper, is built from wine bottles mortared together like glass blocks and lighted from the back. The effect is quite appropriate for a great place to sample wines.

A second set of stairs leads up to the dining rooms on still another level. The main dining room fronts Halsted and has the pleasant appearance of a formal English dining room with scattered antiques and clown dolls looking down from a ledge. Small private dining areas also are available, making this a terrific place for a romantic evening.

If only the same attention to detail that went into the decor was paid to all of the dishes. Granted, few places in Chicago serve English and Scottish specialties, so the culinary theme has the advantage of uniqueness. However, despite the attempt to dress up the fare, English and Scottish dishes still fall well short of the mainstream of light and healthful contemporary eating. Okay, so the cuisine leaves something to be desired. The question then becomes, do they do what they do well? The answer is yes and no. Some dishes succeed quite nicely while others fail dismally. One can choose from a fixed- price dinner menu at $26.50 or order a la carte.

An example of the barely edible side of Cafe Royal came as the lead item from the fixed-price menu. A special fish terrine looks pretty--a small, fluted, circular mold of fish covered in aspic. However, the dish was obviously held in the refrigerator until moments before serving, and the aspic had so hardened that a jackhammer rather than a fork might have made a more appropriate tool for getting at the terrine. Finally, the aspic had to be peeled off in one rubbery sheet that looked like something unmentionable to reveal a mound of fish just as hard as its sheathing.

The other prix fixe appetizer choice, the venison pasty, turns out better --flaky pastry dough wrapped around ground venison. However, neither appetizer gets the meal off to a particularly rousing start. Go instead to the a la carte menu for the good stoved crab cakes, Stilton cheese fritters, a crepe with salmon caviar or the average country pate.

A house salad, a mix of shredded romaine and other leaf lettuces, carrots and tomato, comes with entrees. Choose the punchy Stilton cheese dressing that goes well with a few slices of apples on the side over the curry cream dressing, which is basically a creamy vinaigrette with curry powder mixed in. The only hint that the sorbet with the prix fixe dinner should taste like mint comes from the mint leaf placed on top. Excess sweetness, inappropriate for a supposed palate cleanser, totally conceals any mint flavor. But the texture is good and this sorbet would work as a dessert.

Codfish cooked in foil with a little lemon and parsley is fresh and exceedingly plain. If you love codfish for itself, you`ll love this dish. The bland horseradish dressing on the side doesn`t help much. The lightly sauteed julienne of peppers and carrots on the side has far more flavor.

Avoid the good roast beef because of the disappointingly doughy, soggy Yorkshire pudding accompanying it. Opt instead for the Black Angus sirloin, which the kitchen does well. Other acceptable entree choices include chicken gubins, pork tenderloin and dry but flavorful Cornish hen.

For dessert, apples Charlotte features soggy, sugared bread sprinkled with cinnamon over a bed of mushy apples; it tastes a good deal better than it sounds. Cone-shaped bread pudding made with dark and white bread flecked with raisins and seasoned with too much salt comes with an excellent, rich creme Anglaise.

Friendly, helpful servers work hard to make everyone comfortable. They offer helpful suggestions about wine and good explanations of the dishes.

Unfortunately for this extremely handsome restaurant, the food does not measure up to the decor. Too many dishes either fail totally or are too lifeless to justify the price of $60 to $80 a couple for a full meal. Still, everyone should visit Cafe Royal, if only to see it and enjoy a drink and a snack.

The rating reflects the reviewer`s opinion of the food in relation to price compared with similar restaurants in the Chicago area. Reviews are based on no fewer than two visits; more visits are made when necessary. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by The Tribune.